The Framers Forum

I have recently bought a 2nd hand Minigraf 4. The bloke showed me it working in his workshop and all seemed fine. I've now got it hooked up to a compressor but either I'm doing something wrong or it simply has broken!

It's my first pneumatic, so maybe I'm just doing something wrong??

Couple of things...

1. The underpinner works off of 60psi... The Gage on the underpinner gets to 60psi fine, but does the Gage on the compressor also need to have gone up that high?

2. Should there be any hissing (sounds like air getting out) from the underside of the underpinner?

3. I know that if you push the pedal halfway, the top arm (with the v shape head on it) should lower and then the v nail is pushed into the moulding. When i press the pedal half way, nothing happens, but when i press it fully the device for pushing the nail through works but is much slower than i would have expected.

4. Could anyone give me a simple walk through in lameness terms...?

Any help you may have would be appreciated.

If you could send to dean.smith639@gmail.com

Thanks!

The compressor should be set on the regulator to at least 60 psi if you want 60psi at the underpinner.I think our compresor regulator set to 100psi

You have an air leak if you can hear a hissing noise. This is possible why the top clamp isn't working properly.

Check under the machine to see if any of the pipes have come out- there only a push fit.

If you disconected the foot pedal have you put the 3 pipes back in the right order?

I had a look under earlier and there is air leaking from one of the pipes at the connector. Im going to have a crack at bodging it with some insulator tape and gaffer tape, just to see me through. Do i need to unscrew the bolt or will then orange plastic part just pull out?

It sounds as though this is a push fit connector. The orange bit should be pushed in to release the pipe. To put the pipe back in, don't use insulating tape - make sure it is clean and grease free, and using a sharp knife or razor blade, make sure the pipe is cleanly cut at 90 degrees, and then push it firmly into the connector. There should be no air leaking noises. Check that the pipes are long enough - often in an old machine the pipes have been trimmed too much, and are stretched between connectors (or kinked).

Do check as well, that the foot pedal pipes are in the right order, as mentioned in the previous post

As a Minigraf 4 owner I always use the machine at 4.5bar, but the compressor should be at least 6bar (100psi). As Jim says (Gesso & Bole) the push fit connections need to be trimmed square and pushed back in. My underpinner used to be leak free and the compressor hardly ever came on if the machine was idle. Check also that there are no leaks on the compressor